Day One: Introductions

[Rogue 4]

"Y-you just..." Natalie began stammering as she picked herself unsteadily up to her feet, sand clinging to her hands and knees. "S-so the Dolphin was...and you are..." She was backing up slowly. "I-I'm dreaming. I'm having some... weird, crazy dream and...you just happen to be in it, right? I'll wake up any s-second now and I'll be sleeping on a table in the Cove...and Lance, Kelly and I are going to have a good laugh about it..."

[Drake 53]

Marcus absently scratched his head. "I wish that was the case."

He suddenly remembered something. "I think that there are other people like me. Well...maybe not the exact same. But special like me. I think you have it too. You know your hearing? How sometimes you hear things that others can't?"

[Rogue 4]

"I-I don't know what you're talking about..." Natalie said, shaking and cold now that she was out of the water and into the breeze. "I can't hear any better than anyone else...that before was just a headache. Just a crazy headache and an overactive imagination. Marcus, you just...I don't understand how this...how any of this is possible..."

[Drake 53]

"Neither do I but there's not much I can do about it," Marcus said, getting defensive. "Look, I'm still your friend. At least I hope I am. I need to trust you with this. If other people found out. Well...I can barely deal with one freaked out person right now."

[Rogue 4]

She crossed her arms over her chest, a long shiver going down her spine. She wasn't sure what she should do, or how she felt about it. Just how close were they, and how far should she trust him? Should she keep it a secret, or should she tell someone? "I-I need to get back to the Cove...I heard Kelly yelling for me...she must have saw the shark and..."

Edited May 5, 2008 by Rogue

[Drake 53]

"Alright," Marcus said, backing up from her further. "Uhh. Well, I guess I might see you at school tomorrow. Maybe."

He waited until she was well enough away before chiding himself. "Idiot! What'd you have to go and talk for? Now your only friend thinks you're a freak..."

He transformed back into a hawk and flew away as fast as he could.

Edited May 10, 2008 by Drake

[Rogue 4]

She heard the words, muffled as they may have been and turned around, thinking that Marcus must have been following her. Instead, she discovered that he was almost fifty yards away, and knowing Marcus he was talking to himself, not yelling at himself.

So how then did she hear it so clearly, from this distance? It was something she'd have to think about later.

She turned away as he began to transform again, too freaked out to watch. She ran towards the Cove.

[Drake 53]

The thirty-odd Japanese-American named Samaru Kashiro, or Sam Kash to everyone who knew him, sat alone in his black 1967 Chevy Impala, idlly listening to some AC/DC.

A pair of electro-binoculars were up to his eyes as he watched the blonde girl, named Natalie Brook, run back from her encounter with the other mutant teen, Marcus Connor. He had watched and recorded their entire encounter out at sea and then on the beach. While Marcus had transformed and left in a hurry, she had gone back to the Cove. No doubt looking for another mutant, Kelly Reed.

Sam was a secret agent for the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate, or S.H.I.E.L.D., and his job was to keep an eye on the mutant populace living in the area.

As a mutant himself, he had seen, first hand, the dangers of uncontrolled mutants. He was well aware of Professor's Xavier's new school in town and supported the idea. He would have to remember to stop by and speak with Jean Grey and Cyclops some time soon.

Setting down the electro-binoculars, he turned up the music when Hells Bells started playing. Singing along, he entered a note into his phone planner to remember to visit that school.

Edited May 5, 2008 by Drake

[Ayingel 24]

Lila finally reached the institute. If she hadn't lived in Greendale all her life she wouldn't have noticed the new building at all. She ran her fingers through her long brown hair as she took a deep breath. As she approached the door, she looked at the landscaping, just in case she'd need a place to hide instead. Finally she made it to the door. Taking one last breath, Lila pushed the bell.

[Vergere 1]

Kelly grabbed Natalie's surfboard as it washed in, and stuck it in the sand so it wouldn't get sucked back in by the waves. She smiled at Danny, "Ready to try surfing now?"

[Andy 60]

"Yeah," Danny said enthusiastically as he headed towards the waves, "I'm ready."

* * *

Chase laughed a little at Hailey's misfortune.

"I guess I should be thankful I don't have a destructive power. The first time my brother and I thought something was different about us was when we were fighting once," he explained. "We were on the ground and he went to hit me, but he missed and hit a concrete paving slab, and it cracked clean through. We were ten, then... He denies he's anything but normal, though. He wouldn't even come here because he doesn't want to believe it."

Just then the doorbell rang.

Edited May 5, 2008 by Drake

[Vergere 1]

"Alright." She stuck her own board in the sand next to Natalie's and took out the larger training board with them, both of them swimming out together. She turned them around when she saw what looks like a good wave coming. "Alright, now, try to stand up. I'll be right behind you keeping the board stable and in position, so you can get the feel of how you need to balance yourself." She stood up as well. "Ready? Here it comes!" With that, there was a change in the feel of the board, and it felt like a knife cutting through butter. "Do you feel how you need to shift your weight to stay with the wave?" Instead of sounding like she was yelling, as would be expected to be heard over the wave and pounding water, it sounded more like she was still just casually talking to him.

[Rogue 4]

Natalie left her board by Kelly's, knowing that it would be safe there. She walked inside the cove, sitting down at the countertop and stared across the countertop with blue eyes. She was still shaken, but she was begining to calm down. "Lance, got any drinks that can calm extreme nerves?"

[Vergere 1]

Lance smiled sympathically, "Of course. You like milk?" He shrugged. "I've always found it soothing." He looked at her as he went to get a glass, then in mock seriousness, "The boys aren't out there stripping again, are they?"

[Andy 60]

"Yeah, I think I get it," Danny replied. He gradually shifted his weight and repositioned himself so he was standing on the board as it was pushed along by the waves. He felt it had been a lot easier than he thought it should have been.

[Rogue 4]

"Oh, thank God no." Natalie shuddered at the thought. She placed her forehead on the counter lazily. "I...had a close encounter with a shark."

[Vergere 1]

She nodded. "Okay, wave's about to come down. Take a breath before you fall in.... Now." She did as she suggested as well, and they both fell into the ocean as the wave passed over them. She came up a moment later, grinning. "You're really good at this. I don't think I've ever seen anyone catch on that fast."

***

He chuckled at his response, then turned serious. "Oh my God... Natalie, are you alright?" He puts the glass of milk down before her.

Edited May 5, 2008 by Tyche

[Rogue 4]

She took the glass of milk, downing it in one gulp. "Yeah...I had a little help, but you'd think I was crazy if I told you." She breathed deeply. "I'm just a little shaken up."

[Vergere 1]

Lance shrugged casually, "I bet I've heard stranger things than anything you can come up with." He sits down across from her. "Shoot. I promise I won't think you're crazy."

[Drake 53]

"I hope I'm not interrupting," said Sam, taking a seat next to Natalie. Contrary to what he said, it was entirely his intention to interrupt the conversation between the pair. To Lance he said, "Do you have green tea, by any chance?"

[Andy 60]

Danny laughed as he and Kelly fell into the sea, he shrugged at her comment, "I guess I'm just a natural."

[Vergere 1]

Lance just raised an eyebrow, "Of... course." He glanced at Natalie in a 'let me know if you need me' sort of way, before he nodded and went to get the tea.

***

"Apparently." She smiled as she swam to shore, tugging the board behind her. "You sure you've not done this before?"

[Andy 60]

"Never," Danny confirmed, "you don't get much in the way of waves in London."

They reached the shore finally and Danny brushed his hair away from his eyes. "That was good, I might have to come down here more often."

[Vergere 1]

She smiled, "You should. It's fun down here." She shrugged as they walked on the beach. "You learn quick... you want to try it on a regular sized board without help? I think you could do it. You're a natural."

[Andy 60]

"Well, if you think I'd be okay then sure," he replied, "doesn't hurt to give it a go."